Pagina's

Sunday, February 28, 2016

I love this skirt, made from the free Liv pattern and left over scraps of making
four garments from four fat quarter jersery's that I got from
Droomstoffen (here are garment one and two). Logically, I would blog about this skirt last, but I just
wanted to show you this one so much.

I had several small
scraps, and I started with putting those small scraps together by the
quilt-as-you-go method. The idea behind the method is that you start
with two small pieces, take your rotary cutter and cut two straight
sides (one on each piece). Sew those two straight sides together, re-cut
the combined piece such that it has a straight edge (and the two
previously sewed pieces are both are a part of that straight edge), and
sew that to a third piece (with a straight cut edge).

Creating
the first side of the skirt (which ended up as the front) was the easy part, I just sewed small
pieces together, and went with it. For the second part, I was out of
really small scraps and actually had to cut tiny pieces myself (which
was surprisingly more difficult than just using small pieces). When I
had two sizeable pieces, I just cut the two Liv pattern pieces and sewed them
together. I decided against adding pockets (I know, I was surprised too). I feared pockets would be too much.

I had planned to make the waistband in one color, I
managed to cut a piece just big enough. But, I lost track of the piece
and ended up cutting a piece from the waistband to add to the skirt.
This led me to re-puzzle a waistband together. I am very satisfied with
the patched waist band, it is even better.

You
can find all four fabrics, and many more black and white versions at
Droomstoffen! I am in love with those penguins, I had only a few tiny
pieces left (after making this garment, and the one that will blogged about
later), but I really wanted to use them, so they actually inspired me to
go for a quilted look. The free Liv pattern is available both in Dutch and English.

I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free
to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google
translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than
English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

Friday, February 26, 2016

Yesterday, I told you about the black and white fabric I got from
Droomstoffen, and today I am showing you another sew I made with one of those small pieces. I
made a Zozo, it is a free pattern from Blaverry. Of course, I hacked it
slightly.

The Zozo has a triangular shape, giving a nice
drape on both sides. I foresaw that the drape on my 80 cm tall girls
would not be ideal, so I went for a high-low tunic look. The front is
still a horizontal line, but the back is curved.

It was a
challenge to cut the dress from the small piece, but by turning the
fabric 90 degrees (so actually cutting in the wrong direction) and
splitting the back in two, I succeeded. The fabric has a great four way
stretch, so cutting the fabric in the other direction was no problem. I
turned the fabric, because this way the triangles were facing the same
way (to the side) both on the front and back. If I would have cut the
fabric in its normal direction, the triangles would have been up on the
front and down on the back.

The back seam is not perfect, but
it is pretty close to being invisible, only at the top the triangles
became trapezes. I had not thought about an invisible back seam while
cutting, I had made sure the triangles were on the same height, but the
other dimension I did not think about well enough.

I had cut
the dress a bit short, even for a tunic (the pattern piece looked so
long to me that I had cut it shorter), so I decided to add a visible
black line at the bottom. This way I even added a bit of length, instead
of loosing some by hemming. I think it really nicely frames the
garment.

She had been wearing that pink necklace all
day, and it really was the perfect accessory to the dress. She was also the one who decided it would be a great belt too. This black and white fabric is totally in line with
the typical Blaverry style. You can buy the fabric here and the free pattern can be downloaded here.

I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free
to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google
translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than
English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Droomstoffen stocked up on several beautiful black and white fabrics. A
few of her blogger team members received four "jersey fat quarters". The
original fabric is 140 cm wide, so we got about 70 cm wide times half a
meter long (the length might have been a bit more on some of the
pieces). Getting such a gift is right up in my alley, I loved the
challenge to turn the pieces in full garments.

It is Kids Clothes Week, which means sewing for at least one hour a day, and I have
been cutting and sewing several hours this week already. Today, I will
show you the garment I started last, but finished first (seeing I only
used my serger, no twin needle needed). I had already used both fabrics
for something else and while investigating the remnants, I figured I
could turn them into a Lila. A shorts jumpsuit Lila, because I did not
have enough fabric for a full leg version.

I crafted an
alternative bow (being lazy to read up on that pretty bow I had seen
earlier). When using two different fabrics, I think it is advisable to
use something to break the contrast. I am not sure if my bow was the
best way, but it will have to do.
In my one-fabric Lila I am not missing the extra detail, but in my
earlier created color blocked Lila, the little flap is a true eye catcher.

I did not make a snap bottom opening on the jumpsuit (following her lead). My daughter is on track of not needing a diaper anymore, and I hope that in summer she will only wear her underwear. She does need help in getting the jumpsuit on and off, but that would not have been different if there would have been snaps.

The
fabrics I used for this jumpsuit are this penguin and geometric fabric.
Check them out in the Droomstoffen fabric store, you will love them for
sure. So, no official theme sewing for me this time, my own theme for
this season is black and white. You can check out some other sews on black and white from
the blogger team here. She coincidentally also used the Lila pattern.

I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free
to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google
translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than
English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

We are in the last week of this season's Project Run and Play, so the
theme is "signature style". In my first fourth week of Project Run and
Play, I wrote I did not know what my signature style was. Now, I have an
idea. It definitely involves jersey, there have to be pockets, a bold
combination of fabrics (and the garment therefore usually doesn't fit
with any of the other garment in my kid's closet) and often it involves a
hack (that did not change).

If I would make a the list of
designers I sew from often, Sofilantjes* would be at the top of the list.
I have done several tests in the last year for Sofilantjes, and also
when I am not testing, I often use her patterns. For example, I used the
Nivalis for this season's week two. I therefore decided on a pattern
from Sofilantjes, the Hibernis* for my signature style and hack it into one size
smaller (to a chest 48 cm) for my very skinny 2 year old, with a huge
baby belly.

Throwing away fabric is hard for me, so I kind a save
all. The smaller scraps go in big bags to be used as filling (once I
will need them for sure), but the bit bigger scraps go back in the
fabric closet. I had some weird shaped scraps from this dress, of which
one small part had the bunny bear pair on it. For my youngest I had to
make the top of my front pattern piece narrower and the bottom wider (to
accompany that huge belly) and this way the scrap was the perfect size
for my Hibernis front panel.

I managed to cut two pockets,
two side pieces (one horizontal and one vertical) and two wrist pieces
from my Finch Fabric scraps as well. These pieces had been in my stash
for months because I did not know with what to combine it. When I tested
the woman Legend some scraps remained and they formed a nice
combination with the brown and green from Finch Fabric.

I really love how
the garment turned out and it definitely fits the
does-not-fit-with-anything style. I combined the shirt with her only
pair of jeans, and they are a bit short (yeh for cropped pictures), but the neutral blue was
perfect to balance the bold shirt. She was very pleased when I pointed out the pockets to her, for the rest of the shoot she refused to take her hands out of them.

I also would like to show
you a different view of the Hibernis I sewed during testing. I was a bad
girl, and put the tabs on the outside of the neckband. In my defense
this hack is not visible in the pictures with cowl. Now that the pattern
is out for a few weeks, I do want to show you how our shirt looks like
without the cowl. The tabs are snapped in place on the upper arms and
are a nice extra detail to the shirt. If the cowl is on, the arm snaps
are visible, but I chose a color that perfectly matches the print.

I hope that next season's end my signature style will be a totally self drafted garment. I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free
to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google
translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than
English, German, Dutch or Hungarian). If you buy anything through my
affiliate links (the one indicated with a *), I get a small commission (the price stays the same for
you), I am very grateful for everything that feeds my fabric addiction.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Last week, I showed you the girl Legend, slightly hacked. Today, I am
showing you the ladies Legend, exactly as the pattern prescribed. The
Legend is the newest pattern from Sew Straight and Gather. It is a very
versatile pattern including three sleeve lengths on a top or two types
of dresses.

In my previous post, I already told you most
there is to tell about the pattern. so let's focus on the fabric. I won
the fabric a few months ago at Ellen Naait. It is Ponta Di Roma and such
a lovely quality. Nice and thick but not stiff. It was originally a
corral reef print (or at least it seems that to me), just check out the original pictures of the fabric. Now that the fabric
became a dress it is just a nice combination of different color shades.

The fabric came from Madeline de Stoffenmadam but you can not buy it
there now. The store burned out a few weeks ago. Many people are
rebuilding the store in the building next door. The first fabric has
already been sold and if you want to support the store you can also
already order online.

It still feel awkward to pose for
pictures, my kids seem to have a natural relationship with the camera
but I do not. I need help with pictures, so my mother shot them. My
tripod does not handle portrait pictures and I fear the whole thing
would fall over with the heavy flash on it anyway.

I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free
to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google
translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than
English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

Friday, February 19, 2016

Today, it is my turn to show you the Mackinaw Coat I sewed during
testing for Call Ajaire last month. The pattern is officially for a warm
winter coat, but seeing as we are going towards spring (at least I am
hoping so), I sewed up a coat without batting. The pattern has two
collar sizes (standard and dramatic), and a unisex (straight) and girl
(with pleats) version. I sewed the unisex with standard collar for my
son.

The shape of the coat is inspired by the traditional
Mackinaw coats, which have side seams that curve to the back and low arm
cycles. I often read that some patterns are like a sewing class, well
this one would definitely fit that category. This pattern shows you how
to bag a lining, make bounded button holes and a built in button loop.
Due to my son's narrow frame I decided against the sash, but here you can
see a boy with a sash, how cool is that back!

I also did not
do the bounded button holes, because I simply do not have any nice
buttons in my stash. I stocked up on snaps, totally ignoring buttons.
For this coat, I therefore also used snaps. I used the same blue for the
snaps as the blue from the lining. Both snaps and regular button holes
work fine, but for an extra nice finish bounded button holes are great
skill to master. I decided to have a faux pipping effect on the front by
placing the snaps such that the lining peeks a bit

The sleeves
are in two pieces to give more freedom movement, that is why there is an
extra seam on the elbow side. Another thing I learned through this
pattern.
Now, I realise I forgot to make a pictures from the coat's inside.
Which is a pity because that would show how the main fabric curves
inwards at the bottom obscuring the lining from view. This neat finish
does mean that you have to cut separate pattern pieces for the lining
and the main fabric. Fortunately the pattern contains a very handy table
to not loose oversight over those 25+ pattern pieces.

I
used red denim as main fabric and Soft Cactus for the lining. I bought
the denim online (like I do with almost all my fabric), but I feel that
"red" might be overstating it a bit. When I got it, I felt it looked
more more raspberry. I asked my husband, but he told me it was red. Now
that the coat is finished I really feel it is bit too pinkish.
Therefore the coat might be worn more by my middle daughter, but I am
not sure yet, my son describes it as his fancy coat. So with his love
for pink, but fear to wear it at school, this might be the perfect shade
for him.

Until the 21st of February the coat is on 25% introduction sale with a code that you can get in the Call Ajaire patterns Facebook group.
I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free
to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google
translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than
English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

Thursday, February 18, 2016

We are already in week three of Project Run and Play and this week's
theme is "glitter". This theme was the hardest for me, I never sew with
glitter. This over-the-top dress is probably the only exception. Now
that my entry is finished, I think it is actually the best one I sewed
this season. The newest pattern from Sew Straight & Gather and the
web shop Droomstoffen saved the day (or week).

Let's
start with the pattern. Yesterday, Sew Straight & Gather released
the Legend dress and top pattern both in girl and women sizes. I was one
of the lucky ones to test the women's version, but you will have to
wait for my tester dress (the PRP link up is only open for two more
days). The tester group was flooded with beautiful pictures and I just
had to have the girl's version of the pattern as well.

This
is not a tester dress, which means I could immediately hack the
pattern. The bodice part is the original Legend but the skirt is an
upcycled piece. Two years ago I got a super cute (second hand) garment,
but my girls never wore it, the glitters were itchy under their arms and
the length was off for my skinny girls. The garment has been on my
upcycle pile for a while, but I never dared to use it. For this dress I
only used the skirt part, but the top glitter will be used as well for
sure.

The bodice of the Legend is geniusly designed. The collar
is actually a part of the front bodice and the pattern has a beautiful
finish on the inside. Almost all seams are hidden between the two front
bodice layers. I slightly adjusted the hemming method of the sleeves. I
feared that a traditional hem would be itchy (the sequins would be on
the inside). I cut two strips from the side of the fabric, the wide
selvedge does not have sequins, and removed the rest of the sequins from
the strip. I folded the strip and used my serger to sew it to the
sleeves.

The bodice fabric was gifted to me by Droomstoffen.
A while ago Droomstoffen was searching for bloggers who wanted to
promote her store. I presume you can imagine my enthusiasm, getting free
fabric is every sewists dream. I was over the moon when I was selected
and therefore I also added a logo to my blog. My first sponsor, yeh! We
were allowed to pick our favorite fabrics from among a huge selection
and when I saw this sequin fabric, I immediatly saw possibilities for
this week's Run and Play theme. I did not own real glittery fabric and
am trying to not buy fabric, so Droomstoffen really was a life saver!
Make sure you check out the store, she sends internationally and just
received a huge amount of black and white fabrics!

Let's tell you a bit more over this fabric. It is a blended grey jersey and it is covered in two different sized sequins. I never sewed this type of fabric and I heard horror stories about breaking needles. I was a bit nervous when I started sewing, but there was no need to fear. Both my serger and sewing machine could handle the fabric without problems. It is hard to make good pictures, I hope you see how nice it looks.

The Legend pattern is on sale for two more days for just 5 Canadian Dollars, which is a bit over 3 Euros. It is a great bargain, and you should consider buying both the women and girl version. Check out the pattern in the Sew Straight & Gather webshop!

I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free
to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google
translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than
English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

About me

I am a Dutch mother of four (three girls and one boy) and an academic. I love to create and use this blog to share my creations with the world. I knit, crochet, sew, bake etc. and many of those skills I learned from bloggers around the globe. I hope you like reading about my creative adventures and that they may inspire you.